Indian memories of EW Swanton

When we were school kids, the first name in cricket broadcasting was John Arlott. But EW `Bill' Swanton was a close second. After hearing the colourful descriptions of the day's play from Arlott, Brian Johnston, Trevor Bailey and others the lucid summing up of the day's proceedings from Swanton would be the perfect dessert.

Through the sixties and seventies, we in India were regaled by Swanton's succinct comments and impartial views on the game and the players. There was no issue on which he did not take a stand. Fearless in his outlook, erudite about various aspects of the game and concise in his comments, Swanton could be relied upon to present a true and balanced picture whether it was on the throwing controversy that plagued the game in the early 60s, the D'Oliveira affair of the late sixties, the disputed sacking of Brian Close from the England captaincy in 1967 or the cancellation of the South African tour in 1970. He was essentially a traditionalist, a view borne out by his intense love for the game.

With absolute ease, Swanton made the transition from radio to television. But by this time it was also time to savour his many books on the game and his concise and knowledgable writings in the Daily Telegraph. From an Indian viewpoint, his reporting on India's historic triumph at the Oval in 1971 was particularly heart warming. And his books were a veritable treasure house of clearly thought out literature. He said it all when he entitled his magnum opus ``Sort of a cricket person'' which remained one of his best known books. And as a historian, his `History of Cricket' and `Barclays World of Cricket' have proved to be invaluable.

Of the many tours he organised in a bid to spread the game, one of the most successful was Swanton's Commonwealth team's visit in 1964 when the side played in Calcutta. Among the players to have benefited from the exposure such trips gave the cricketers was MAK Pataudi.